The scores at Augusta National were low during Round 1 of the Masters. Tiger Woods' score was low, just not as low as those for a slew of competitors, many of whose names you almost sort of recognized.

Chances are, it doesn't matter. All eyes are on Tiger, the odds-on favorite to win, hungry for his fifth career win there and his first major win, period, in five years. He gave everybody a reason to keep looking on Thursday.

It wasn't so much the 70 that he shot, 2-under par and within view of the surprise early leaders. It was the way he got himself into that position mid-round, while he seemed on his way to an entirely pedestrian start. By the time that little run started, Australia's Marc Leishman was putting together a round-breaking string of his own, four consecutive late birdies on his way to a 66.

But by the time it ended, Tiger was the object in the rear-view mirror that was closer than it appeared. He parred the first five holes of the day, parred the last four, and had his only bogey on No. 14. In between, he birdied the par-3 sixth off a great tee shot, then saved out of the rough to birdie the par-5 eighth, and then picked up another par-5 birdie at No. 13 after making an enticing run at a very long eagle putt.

Suddenly, Woods was on the first page of the leaderboard, and while it wasn’t a full-bore bolt of electricity that went through the gallery and the surrounding groups, it was a tingle that everybody in the field and all who were watching would feel for a while. Possibly for the rest of the weekend.

It's tough, of course, to figure out what's an omen for Woods at Augusta, historically and currently. He has shot in the 60s one time in the first round there. It hasn't particularly mattered — three of the times he won, he shot 70, as he did Thursday. The fourth time he shot a 74.

That, of course, adds that layer of intrigue. That most recent Masters win was a lifetime ago, so it's hard to figure how the Tiger of his previous career phase compares to what Woods is doing in this phase. As the first round neared this week, Woods talked of how comfortable he is with all phases of his game, and the numbers back that up — three wins on courses he knows well, at Torrey Pines, Doral and Bay Hill.

Wins there have tended to be omens for success in the majors. Shooting a 70 on Day 1 has tended to be an omen, too — or, at least, not dropping a low score like Leishman's 66 or Sergio Garcia's 66 or British journeyman David Lynn's 68 has not been a drawback.

But that was a lifetime ago … seven Masters ago and 10 majors ago (dating to the 2008 U.S. Open playoff win).

Nevertheless, it was a noisy ascent on the leaderboard Thursday afternoon. Lynn, and then Leishman, raised eyebrows — but Tiger's move caused heads to whip around. It’'s likely those heads included those of his fellow players. It's still habit. He's still the man to beat and the man to watch.

Woods gave everybody something to watch. Not as much to watch as he had wished, naturally. He told ESPN he was "solid" in Round 1, including with his putting, but added, "I didn't leave myself the easiest of putts, and I'm very satisfied today." He left a couple of them short and curved a few wide, he acknowledged, but things could have been worse.

That's how close he was to shooting his second sub-70 first round at Augusta. The eagle try at the 13th was a perfect example.

As of late afternoon, the rain forecast for the day had stayed away, and as Woods wrapped up his round, the numbers were sliding lower. Garcia and Rickie Fowler, for example — nobody's Cinderellas like Leishman and Lynn would be — got hot and hopped ahead of Tiger.

Yet at the end of the day there wasn't a disturbingly large list of players Woods would have to vault the next 54 holes. He has had longer lists, and conquered them.

That was, though, in a previous chapter of his career. It seems like forever. But the blueprint for another Masters (and another major) win looked very familiar. Those players he’s chasing sure recognize it.